Ignore the negative hype from politicians and right-wing media. Stand fast and refuse their distorted framing of Somali Americans. It's just not American.
by Terry Hansen
Guest Commentary
Guest Commentary
When President Trump labeled Somali immigrants “garbage,” he weaponized presidential power to demean an entire community. In her insightful TED Talk, “The Danger of a Single Story," novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie warns that "power lies not only in the ability to tell another person’s story, but to make it the definitive story of that person." Yes, some Somali Americans in Minnesota have been implicated in financial fraud. That fact should be reported, but it should never become the sole lens through which we view an entire community— thousands of Somali families including refugees, healthcare workers, business owners and students. The Somali American story includes triumphs over war and displacement, civic engagement in American politics, and contributions to Minnesota’s economy. When politicians or the media reinforce the “single story” of crime and corruption, they obscure a broader truth. Adichie reminds us that “stories can break the dignity of a people, but stories can also repair that broken dignity.” To honor the history of immigration in America, we must refuse the temptation to see any community through one distorted frame. It is our duty not to amplify division, but to tell stories that affirm our shared humanity.
Terry Hansen is a retired educator who writes frequently about climate change and on human rights. He lives in Grafton, WIsconsin.
